"...Ice Miller LLP partner Lacy Johnson said Joseph is part of what he called 'one of the most amazing things I’ve ever encountered in Indianapolis politics.'

"When Democratic Mayor Bart Peterson took office in 2000, Johnson was appointed chairman of the airport authority board. Joseph, a Republican who’d been appointed by former GOP Mayor William Hudnut and served through the term of Republican Stephen Goldsmith, thought his time was up.

“'Rex came to me unsolicited and offered his resignation as board lawyer,' Johnson said. 'I said, ‘Why are you doing that?’' Johnson said rather than wanting to fill the position with a political appointment, 'it was quite the contrary. We wanted stability and we wanted someone who was a good lawyer and would put the airport first.'

"'Never once from my perspective did (Joseph) ever let politics enter into any decision he ever made, or advice and counsel he gave the board,' Johnson said..."